External Affairs Minister Alva Baptiste has urged Saint Lucians to be wary of bringing reproach on their native land when they travel overseas.
“I would always say to Saint Lucians to exercise an abundance of caution when you visit other countries – how you behave in those countries, because you know we try to create opportunities for ourselves. We want to visit more developed countries. Some of us would want to take up residence there,” Baptiste noted.
He spoke to reporters during a press briefing on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting.
“I would always encourage Saint Lucians to be law-abiding citizens,” the Laborie MP stated.
And he observed that lawful behaviour would minimise the possibility of visa impositions on Saint Lucians, incarceration in a foreign country, and deportation.
Baptiste explained that government Ministers have no control over that.
He noted that good behaviour on the part of Saint Lucian travellers would create a better image of their country.
Baptiste’s comments came after Canada added Saint Lucia to its Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) programme, enabling visa-free travel for eligible citizens.
Saint Lucian citizens who have either held a Canadian visa in the last ten years or a valid United States non-immigrant visa can now apply for an eTA instead of a visa when travelling to Canada by air.
In September 2012, Canada imposed a visa requirement for Saint Lucians.
At the time, Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney declared that the move was necessary to protect the integrity of Canada’s ‘fair and generous immigration system’.
How about watching their conduct in St Lucia? Is that not even more important? How we conduct ourselves at home has bearing on how we behave while away. A pig is still a pig when taken out of its pen.
Less St Lucians are able to travel now with the more expensive passport, that was cut illogically from 10 years to effectively less than the stated 5 years, not to mention the obstacle course involved in renewing.
Well said @ big picture ..you can dress a pig in a tuxedo it will still find the mud. Either you have manners or you don’t …….you have a choice to be mannerly on unmannerly….some are extremely ignorant.
I have witnessed some St. Lucians abroad with the utmost bad behavior, unethical and rude all while drawing attention to themselves. Honestly, I stay very far from them.
So Alve. After citizens point out your wasteful expenditure of tons of taxpayer money on your monthly first class tours all over the world, your clueless responce is to castigate Lucians.
You cannot even outline the advantages gained for St Lucia for each of your specific
100+ trips over the years of your tenure as St Lucia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This post is one of the 3 most highly esteemed in the world’s political hierarchy, with names such as Kissinger, Viscount Palmerston. Even today we have the Indian and Jamaican Foreign Ministers much respected throughout the world.
You on the other hand have been a crass buffoon who has brought the SLP parochial and parasitical approach to everything you all touch. The Ministry is no more than your travel and take machinery for self agrandizement.
A government that wants the cleansing light of accountability would ensure that you report on the results of each and every one of your trips abroad and the resultant positives to the benefit of the taxpayer.
Instead each trip is a quiet furtive move in and out of our airports and expenditure of 10’s of thousands of scarce dollars that you want kept under the radar, so the citizens do not ask you to account for the obvious wastage.
But I blame us Lucians because your behaviour is what is expected. We somehow accept that winning elections is not about service as practiced by the great John Compton but about self service as practiced by the SLP bigwigs while in power. So we turn a blind eye as hundreds of millions go wasted on an annual basis.
Unfortunately – we like it so even as inflation, taxes and now the summer heat killing us !
Behaving overseas, start at home first!
trust saint lucians to mess it up for other people, they are the most back stabbing hypocritical set of people with crabs in a bucket mentality. This is so disgusting like as if you are little children that needs a baby sitter. The warning of the minister is like when your parents drop you off at your grand parents and they have to tell you to behave your self. Utter disgrace.
Those slp minister’s just preying on the ignorance of most lucians people open y’all eyes and let’s bring back chas so this country can prosper what the hell is wrong with us…it’s so hard out there especially if you’re already been convicted got tattoos for some people your appearance red flag…construction is the way develop the country so we the youths can be occupied working instead of being on the streets broke like dog what you expect will happen chas just hold it down keep up the pressure next election we voting them man out same speed
I know there is many different points to elaborate on however it’s astonishing how little this current government is emphasizing of the crime rate on the island to at least give us some hope that they will be able to do something about it.
Thank u I leave in this country for over 20 years married for the same amount of time and am proud every time I watch the news and they mention crime i pray it’s not a Lucian once a while u hear a Lucian do crime in America but u are right if we practice it our children can go back to st Lucia and love and respect our country
This place is a petri dish for crime. So many people are unaware that their behaviors are detrimental to others. They have not been taught otherwise by the law or their parents. Let’s visit what’s happening around us. Some people are selling vegetables in locations downtown even though there is market specifically for that purpose. No one in authority dare make a correction. Other citizens blast their sound systems as if they are the only ones living on the island. No respect or regard for others. We are not even talking about mindless speeding and dangerous acts. One thing is common, no one is stopping those violators. Their selfish behaviors get rewarded over and over. They soon believe it’s the norm.
Leap forward, those morons travel overseas and perform those precise acts. We know what happens next. The root of the problem is in St. Lucia. No one is taking anyone to task. The law doesn’t have lawmen.
Poule Foo, you just made my day. There is just no law enforcement. People do as they please and no one dares to correct them. Crime is committed with impunity.
If you have bad manners at home, you will display the same bad manners wherever you go. Let us start with Lucian in Martinique. Educate Lucians and equipped them with the skills in demand so that they can be productive, independent, law abiding and gainfully employed outside of St.Lucia. Sometimes, they go overseas and deviate from character and engage in deviant behavior. @ Ant the grapes are sour.
They really must review this 5 year validity passport and put it back to ten years. End of. What a waste!
# Black Ant what’s your point ??? There is no lie to what The Most Honorable Alva Baptiste is saying……we are less welcome than Haitians in Martinique , I am not making no excuses for some of our people, they go to other people’s country and get on bad in the worst way , we may not be the majority but we still end up making a name for ourselves and then export the crap they have learned to St Lucia.
You should watch yours first at home Alva….